Sindh Education Reform Program

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

The project has increased enrollment rates by 600,000 children in school.

Approximately 13,500 new teachers were hired based on merit.

All students are now guarenteed free textbooks.

Enabling Girls' Education

“In olden days only my brother could go to school, but now I am going too because it is totally free. We learn new things every day and school is so much fun,” said 8-year-old Sumaira, who studies in grade 2.

Traditionally, Sumaira and other girls like her would stay at home helping their mothers with daily chores or looking after their younger siblings. But with the provincial government’s Sindh Education Sector Reform Program (SERP), supported by the World Bank, Sumaira goes to school in Aliabad village of District Jamshoro, Sindh. Sumaira can dream now, and she dreams of becoming a teacher.

SERP is helping children like Sumaira and her younger brother Wahid to fire their imaginations about the limitless options life has to offer. These young children are the future of Pakistan and their education today will ensure a prosperous tomorrow for all.

With the help of SERP, the primary net enrollment rate has increased from 50 percent to 54 percent in Sindh, which translates into an additional 600,000 children in school. In addition, the ratio of female-male primary net enrollment in rural areas has increased from 61 percent to 76 percent.

Free textbooks are a boon for learning

Asma Gul is getting free textbooks through Sindh Education Reform Program. Unlike her elder brothers, who do not go to school, Asma feels happy to be going to school and fortunate that she need not worry about the books as free textbooks for every student are ensured by the SERP. She feels that free textbooks would further help the students’ learning.

Abdul Majeed teaches at the Government Boys Higher Secondary School in Unarpur. According to him provision of text books free of cost, stipend to students and recruitment of teachers on merit by the provincial government has resulted in rise in the number of children being admitted to schools. “Young girls who were once restricted to their homes have started going to school”. He believes there is hardly a chance of misuse of scholarship money as the stipend is directly sent to the recipients’? He also appreciated the fact that since the amount of stipend is directly related to the student’s enrolment, this is encouraging more students to enroll themselves in the school.

Teacher recruitment and placement

Approximately 13,500 new teachers were hired into government service over two recruitment rounds from 2009 onwards, based on test scores and other objective criteria and locally placed in schools under fixed-term, school-specific contracts. Evidence suggests that local teachers recruited on merit have a lower rate of absenteeism on average than teachers hired from far off places through nontransparent recruitment procedures.

Ghulam Sakeena, a teacher in the Government Primary School in Wapda Colony, Jamshoro, is one of the teachers who have been appointed under the reform package for a specific school. She says that she is satisfied with her job as she gets to live with her family. She said, “I won’t be able to continue this job if I am sent to anyplace away from my family.”

" I want Aisha to study science and become a doctor and serve our villagers. "

Ali Akbar

Parent

New horizons for parents

Parents in Sindh now see a brave new world of opportunities ahead for their children. Ali Akbar, a proud father of Aisha has a whole host of aspirations for his bright young daughter. “I want Aisha to study science and become a doctor and serve our villagers,” says a beaming Ali Akbar.

The Government of Sindh is seeking to improve education outcomes by improving school participation, reduce gender and urban-rural disparities, increase progression, and improve the measurement of student learning.

Remaining Challenges

Despite improvements as a result of SERP interventions, especially in teacher recruitment practices, teacher management remains weak resulting in poor teacher attendance, lack of punctuality and poor teaching practices resulting in low student learning outcomes. Limited support to improve teaching practices, the absence of teaching learning materials in classrooms, and school-based support and performance monitoring of teachers represents challenges that needs to be addressed for long-term improvements in the education sector . A greater focus on addressing these challenges is reflected in the Government of Sindh's evolving efforts as part of its next round its reform program, the Second Education Sector Reform Program.